BY HANA MEDINA
BEFORE THERE were a million style
options, fun designs and embellishments,
socks were a utilitarian clothing item.
Unless you were a golfer in argyle, design
typically stopped at two colored stripes
atop white tube socks. Karen Bell decided
that fashion and creativity shouldn’t be
limited to tops, bottoms and shoes. Socks
were overdue to have a little fun of their
own. In ;;;;, she started K. Bell Socks out
of her home, and it has since grown to be a
multimillion-dollar empire.
Small threads
“I was always artsy-craftsy,” Bell tells
The Connection by phone from her office
outside Los Angeles. “I loved to embellish
things. I loved fashion, and I was putting
rhinestones and buttons and lace trims
and things on socks by myself in my free
time, then giving them to my friends.”
Her friends were so impressed by Bell’s
creativity that they encouraged her to sell
her designs. In ;;;;, at age ;;, she worked
up the courage to pitch her creations to a
small trendy store in Beverly Hills. The
owner bought everything she had.
Initially, Bell solicited the help of a few
friends to continue embellishing socks at
home. She purchased plain white socks
from a local retailer, stocking up during
sales. However, she soon changed her
design strategy, purchasing clothing dye at
a craft store and dyeing plain socks a variety of colors in her washing machine. She
says this was much less labor-intensive
than embellishments.
In ;;;;, Bell formed relationships
with hosiery mills in North Carolina to buy
wholesale socks. The move allowed her to
turn a profit for the first time.
Challenges
As her orders increased, Bell struggled
with the cash flow to fulfill them. She
sought a credit line for her business to remedy the situation, but she soon found that,
as a female business owner, she had to battle bias head-on. One banker suggested she
bake bread if she failed. “That stayed with
me, only because he did not take the time to
understand my business,” she says. “His
comment was subjective, and I never went
back to that bank.” She eventually formed a
great relationship with a financial institution that extended the credit she needed
to continue growing.
In the mid-’;;s, Bell graduated from
running her business from home to rent-ing her first warehouse. She also hired her
first sales reps in New York City and Los
Angeles. This put K. Bell on the proverbial
socks map, as she suddenly became a
national brand with skyrocketing sales in
specialty and department stores. Costco
began selling K. Bell socks in ;;;;.
Bell joined forces with Renfro
Corporation, the biggest sock company in
the world, in ;;;;. She maintains her title
as founder and continues to be the chief
design officer. She says Renfro hasn’t
changed how K. Bell operates, but offers
greater access to resources to make socks
from the best materials, at a great value.
The sock
Today, K. Bell designs it all, from
tights, knee-highs, thigh-highs and novelty socks to basics and athletic wear. The
K. Bell website offers a variety of styles,
from business-appropriate to light-hearted (think animal and food themes or
funny sayings).
SUPPLIERPROFILE
Socks appeal
K. Bell Socks puts your best foot forward
tion that extended the credit she needed
In the mid-’;;s, Bell graduated from
running her business from home to rent-
ing her first warehouse. She also hired her
first sales reps in New York City and Los
Angeles. This put K. Bell on the proverbial
socks map, as she suddenly became a
national brand with skyrocketing sales in
specialty and department stores. Costco
Bell joined forces with Renfro
Corporation, the biggest sock company in
the world, in ;;;;. She maintains her title
“We’ve always been trend-driven,” says
Bell, adding that the designers glean inspi-
ration from apparel to housewares. “We
can see a pattern on a couch and we can see
a texture on a jacket and, the next thing
you kno w, the next season, there it is in our
sock line.”
And don’t think that basics can’t be on
trend. She reports, “Right now, activewear
is huge. We’re doing tremendous business
in no-shows and liners and shorter socks.”
While looking good is important to K.
Bell, it’s only half the pie. K. Bell’s tagline
is “Fun fashion that feels good,” which
means comfort is paramount. Bell says,
“We really pride ourselves on the level of
finish, but also on the quality of the prod-
uct.” Internal quality control ensures stan-
dards are followed at all manufacturing
facilities for consistent comfort and fit.
Community-conscious as well as qual-ity-minded, K. Bell donates socks to a variety of organizations each year—many of
which support the homeless—and the
Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Whether your style is funky or functional, Bell says, “With socks, it’s very personal. You open your sock drawer, and you
pull the same three pairs out every time.
It’s not a coincidence. It’s because they feel
good. And when our feet are comfortable,
we all have a good day, don’t we?” C
C
O
UR
T
ES
Y
K.
BELL
K. Bell Socks founder,
Karen Bell
COMPANYINFO
COMPANY K. Bell Socks
PRESIDENT Karen Bell
EMPLOYEES 97
HEADQUARTERS Inglewood, California
WEBSITE
kbellsocks.com
ITEMS AT COSTCO AND COSTCO.COM
K. Bell Women’s No-Show Socks
Various item #s. Colors rotate by season.
QUOTE ABOUT COSTCO
“We enjoy all aspects of the Costco
business, and we always love to have an
opportunity to partner with them. Costco
is a great partner for us because we’re so
similar in not just our customer base, but
also the way we run our businesses. We
both are very careful about planning, and
that really helps make it as successful as
it’s been.”—Karen Bell, founder
